Healing is an art. It takes time. It takes practice. It takes love.

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Lamictal
has been my mood stabilizer for about 2 years now. It is also an anticonvulsant
for epilepsy. For me, it was truly life
changing. I had been hospitalized and diagnosed with bipolar disorder a few
years back. Once I was put on medication, I had felt worse than I ever have in
my life. The depressive episode I fell into after the manic episode that landed
me in the hospital almost ended me, seriously. I had been on lithium, Depakote,
seroquil, Latuda, Topamax and risperidone. All were horrible for me and made me
feel like a zombie. I felt suicidal much of the time and was scared that I was
treatment resistant. Once I was finally put on Lamictal, the lights turned back
on. After months of barely being able to get out of bed, I was moving. I was
getting up and doing things and didn’t feel like the heavy blanket of
depression was covering me anymore. I couldn’t believe it. My family noticed as
well. It stabilized my moods and helped with the anger and anxiety. The biggest
difference was how it lifted my depression. This is when I truly realized that
a chemical imbalance was going on in my head, and this med was balancing me. The
generic brand for Lamictal is lamotrigine.

Is Lamictal a good mood stabilizer?

Definitely. But it does not work for everyone. With
medication, it comes down to trial and error. Some meds work great for some
people that don’t work or cause terrible side effects in other people. Work
with your health care provider to monitor you on your medication.

Yes, Lamictal can be used for anxiety. It has immensely
helped my anxiety. Maybe because it calms down the racing thoughts.

What are the most common side effects of Lamictal?

Lamictal is not without side effects. For me personally, I
have not experienced much, maybe a couple pimples here and there but nothing
really. Some symptoms people can experience include: weight loss, dizziness,
fatigue, skin problems, double vision, shaking, headache, coordination, stomach
pain, back pain, sore throat.

Serious side effects of Lamictal you should report to your doctor include:

rash,

worsening depression or suicidal thoughts, and

flu-like symptoms such as body aches or swollen glands.

How does Lamictal work on the brain?

Lamotrigine prevents epileptic fits or seizures by stabilising excessive electrical activity in the brain. … It’s not fully understood how lamotrigine works as a mood stabiliser in bipolar disorder, but it is thought to be to do with the reduction of glutamate in the brain

Here are other reviews from Drugs.com on Lamictal as well as
other medications.

Bipolar
disorder is a mood disorder that alternates between episodes of both depression
and mania. Although bipolar is a mental illness that affects the mind, there
are many physical symptoms that unfortunately accompany it. Here are 10 common
symptoms I have experienced.

Memory loss.

I
literally sometimes just can’t remember things. I write down everything.

Shaking.

Whether it’s the hand shakes, the leg
twitching, being agitated, irritated and restless.

Sleeping too little or too much.

When
in a hypomanic or manic episode especially, sleep may be quite the challenge. A
few hours a night can be the norm and when in a depressive episode, well, you
could just sleep and sleep and sleep the days away.

Clumsiness.

When I am on a
high, I move really fast. I knock things over, drop things, trip, you name it.
Its like I cannot help but to be a disaster.

Knots in neck/shoulders

Being tense all the
time causes knots in the neck and shoulders. I also never truly feel relaxed
and my muscles cramp up as well.

Not being able to speak

Sometimes
I literally can not speak. I am silent. Sometimes I am speaking but not making
much sense or forget what I am saying.

Gastrointestinal Issues

These
are very common amongst mental disorders. I also have celiac disease so I have
stomach issues period. More research is showing the link between the brain and
the gut and how gastrointestinal issues many times go hand in hand with mental
illness.

Blackout

Sometimes
the anger is so overwhelming I can black out and not remember what I said or
did. The anger also causes extreme fatigue and headaches. The extreme emotions
are exhausting.

Skin Problems

Both
depression and mania can cause a surge of stress hormones and your skin may
take the hit. When I am manic I sometimes feel like there are bugs under my
skin, and I scratch and scratch and scratch sometimes til I am almost bleeding.

Talking to myself out loud

When
manic, I tend to talk to myself out loud. The racing thoughts and stress make
me go over situations over and over and I try to figure things out by saying
them as I am problem solving. Sometimes I really just can’t help how much I
talk in general. Lately, I realize I constantly interrupt people as well, or
just don’t wait my turn to talk.

Lately, there has been a return of old school beauty treatments. In the ancient medical traditions of China and Southeast Asia, gua sha, a method of facial massage with crystal tools was used to keep skin youthful, relieve tension in the face, boost blood circulation and encourage lymphatic drainage. “Fascia” is the connective tissue which holds muscles together but can sometimes interfere with optimal circulation. The facial gua sha massage helps break this up, making your face slimmer and sharper. It is also known to help with headaches, jaw pain, and an overall glow. Some people even use it as a replacement to botox!

In the early traditional days, anything from an antler to a horn, to a porcelain spoon would be used on the body as a vigorous scraping technique. The new popular gua sha tools are gentle, don’t worry, gliding over the tissue with a crystal stone.

Gua sha is best performed on clean skin. Prime your skin with serum or oil so that you have a smooth surface to glide over. Sweep the tool down your neck, up your jawline, your cheekbones, forehead, temples, under eyes ect. There are lots of youtube videos on the technique. You will be able to feel balls and spots in your face that feel tight. These are the ligaments you want to break up. The daily stress of life takes a toll on our jaw and facial muscles, so this is so beneficial. I like to glide the gua sha tool across the different areas about 10 times.

Gua sha is a popular facial to get but you can also did it at home. I must caution though not to use the gua sha tool too rigorously. There have been reports of bruising and such but I have not experienced anything like that personally. Don’t go crazy with it, I am sure you will get the best way once you have practiced using it. Just don’t hurt yourself please!

I bought a gua sha face roller and tool. I absolutely love it!! I was looking for anti-aging masks online and gua sha tool came up. I read some reviews, did some research and then decided I wanted to try it for myself. Well I am super glad I did!

After just a week of use, my skin is so smooth and shiny and definitely slimmer. I must have had swollen lymph nodes because the swelling really went down and contoured my face really nicely. I have been using it with coconut oil so that it glides smoothly. It really feels nice and is a great intentional form of self-care. I would definitely recommend the gua sha tool and also the gua sha face roller. Here are what they look like.

Gua sha Tools

Gua Sha Crystal Tool. I use this all down my neck. The part where there is a groove I use to go up and down my jaw line. This is the bigger Gua Sha face roller. I like to use this over my cheekbones and down to my chin.This is the smaller Gua Sha Face roller. I like to use this over my eybrows, under my eyes and on my temples.

As a bipolar sufferer myself, I definitely use humour to deal with my challenging symptoms. This disorder definitely comes with it’s funny moments. If anything, they are like inside jokes only we find funny and its another reminder that your not alone! I have taken this list of 22 memes from The Mighty that made my day and hopefully can make yours too!

If you use humor to cope with bipolar disorder, this is for you:

1.

2.

via @bipolar_beauty153 Instagram

3.

via @bipolar_beauty153 Instagram

4.

via dsmeme5 Instagram

5.

via ocd_and_positivity Instagram

6.

via @bipolar_beauty153 Instagram

7.

via ocd_and_positivity Instagram

8.

via ocd_and_positivity Instagram

9.

via @bipolar_beauty153 Instagram

10.

via @bipolar_beauty153 Instagram

11.

via gallic.guy Instagram

12.

via yesim_jaded on Instagram

13.

via memetalhealthtrash Instagram

14.

thenewforeignkid on Instagram

15.

via @bipolar_beauty153 Instagram

16.

via cloroxpancakes Instagram

17.

via @bipolar_beauty153 Instagram

18.

via @bipolar_beauty153 Instagram

19.

via @bipolar_beauty153 Instagram

20.

via bipolarandchubby Instagram

21.

via aeon_flexx Instagram

22.

Wow, I was pretty impressed to be honest when I heard that aria posted a picture of what her PTSD brain looks like in comparison to a normal one. It’s funny because when I was at a speaking event last week, a teacher came up to me afterwards talking about the brain scans between different disorder and how the brain looks so different. She said to show it to people who need a true visual to understand mental illness. I am happy Ariana Grande decided to use her platform for some awareness and stigma reduction.

Ariana Grande has openly talked about struggling with both PTSD and anxiety after the traumatic bombing at her 2017 Manchester, England concert.

This past Thursday Ariana posted a screenshotted text conversation of brain scans. One image was the comparison between a PTSD brain and a normal brain. The images how the difference in the PTSD brain as more areas are highlighted, indicating the increased activity.

Under this image she posted another image where she wrote “My brain”. Her brain scan shows even more lit up activity. She commented “Hilarious and terrifying” and “not a joke”.

All of this is very true. I have bipolar disorder and the brain scans are quite different as well. PTSD and traumatic stress has clearly been shown by research to alter the brain. It can cause changes to different brain structures such as the amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, causing lasting changes.

One of the most common stress responses for people with PTSD is hypervigilence. It is being in a state of perpetual alertness from the brain being in a state of hyperarousal. I have suffered PTSD alongside my bipolar disorder for years. It is very hard for people to understand who have not experienced it. I am always alert, scanning my environment, not sleeping because my brain wont shut off that “alert” button. I have a hard time trying to explain that sometimes the world is just too noisy, and everything is too triggering. I experience flashbacks and intense feelings of paranoia and anxiety. It is easy for me to isolate to try to diminish the feelings of overwhelm and intensity.

I find journaling to be one of the most effective ways for me to both express and regulate my emotions. It is a powerful tool in building self awareness.

Maybe when you were younger, you kept a journal. It was somewhere to store your secrets, your thoughts, your feelings, struggles and fears. It felt good to get it all out, and the benefits of journaling still apply now.

Journaling is a simple and effective way to release your thoughts and feelings and understand them more clearly. For people like myself who deal with mental health challenges, it’s a powerful way to deal with these struggles. People who suffer anxiety, depression, bipolar, stress and insomnia find it to be very helpful.

I like to track my moods as I have bipolar disorder. This has helped me manage my cycles and understand my highs and lows better. I am able to prioritize my problems and fears as well. I have been able to tie triggers to moods and effectively avoid triggers or effectively control them.

When I journal I always make sure to do a gratitude journal somewhere as well. I keep my gratitude journal separate, and I also have a separate journal for positive affirmations.

How to Journal

Get a journal/notebook and a pen

Keep it beside your bed

Write everyday whenever you feel like it, morning or night, before bed etc.

Journaling for me also has really helped me be more organized. It is something I really struggled with and first organizing my thoughts on paper helped me to get more organized in general. I have also built a lot of self awareness through writing. A lot of times when I write , old memories I thought were lost come back and I come up with new ideas or realizations. It really helps you to get to know yourself and understand yourself.

This is a really great mask I make for my hair. There usually ends up being enough to put on my face as well and it works amazing !

So what you will need:

1 egg

4 tablespoons plain yogurt

2 tablespoons of olive oil(or coconut)

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Directions:

In a small bowl beat one egg until smooth. Add 5 tablespoons of yogurt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Squeeze the juice from a lemon into one tablespoon and then mix all together.

Apply to dry, brushed hair. Cover hair in mixture and then apply the rest to your face as a face mask. Leave on face for 15 minutes and on hair for 30 before rinsing it out. After completely rinsed with plain water shampoo and condition as regular.

Benefits of egg for hair

Rich in protein and biotin

Tames frizz

Balance scalp sebum

Hair growth

Adds shine

Naturally conditions

Benefits of yogurt in hair mask

Rich in Protein

lactic acid hydrates hair

clears away dead skin cells

The olive oil acts as a conditioner help smooth hair smooth and silky while improving its elasticity. Lemons are rich in vitamin c and boosts the production of collagen. Lemon juice also helps to stimulate hair growth and control oil production.

I read a stat, that said 90% of
people in bipolar relationships will ultimately fail.

That was
pretty discouraging. I have only failed at every serious relationship I’ve ever
had, hearing that was quite terrifying. To be honest, all these relationships
did not end for reasons specific to me, but I look back at some of my behaviours,
my feelings and my thinking. Without bipolar disorder, these experiences may
have been quite different. But for me, there was something to be learned.
Something about myself. Something about this illness that I sometimes forget
exists until I am emotionally charged.

See I have
always had these intense, toxifying relationships with people. I mistakenly
used to call it “passionate relationships”. Truth is, there were just toxic and
highly dysfunctional. Mind you, multiple relationships were with Narcissists/Sociopaths.
(Yes, real ones!)

I came to understand through multiple traumas, that it all stemmed from
childhood wounds. Wounds that had not healed. Wounds I am still healing right
now. Childhood trauma is another article all together that I could go on about,
but this article is focusing on what these relationships have taught me about
my bipolar disorder.

I am a
medicated bipolar girl, faithfully every night, I attend therapy and I do the work
I need to do. But even though all these things are in place, there is no actual
cure. Which means I still have the ups and downs, usually quite manageable, and
not the dangerous extremes.

Quite
manageable to me I mean. You see when I am single, I do my own thing. I spend
lots and lots of time alone(not depressed, just introverted and have lots of
goals) and I am horrible at adjusting to sharing my time. I honor my time and
relationships have taught me that even more. While friends would want to be
with their boyfriends 24/7, I wanted time to myself to self reflect, recharge
and practice self care. I am easily overwhelmed and overstimulated by my
environment. Relationships where there is a lot of fighting completely drain me
and I get quite stressed during them. Like I said though, the type of men I
chose were adding to this chaos. My bipolar brain loves excitement and impulsivity
at times. These “Dangerous” men were quite attractive to me. This has taught me
to be more self aware and conscious of my choices. Reminding myself butterflies
in your tummy are not always a good thing. It’s probably your gut warning you! I have learned to not accept fault for
everything. Yes, I have been unrightfully blamed all because I have a mental
health condition. Talk about stigma. I have learned I too am allowed to have “normal”
human emotions while also having more extreme ones.

My anger is
rooted in injustice and unfairness. My anger was on display quite ravenously
during some relationships. Looking back I was just protecting myself from extreme
verbal and emotional abuse. I was also so terribly hurt from certain
experiences and did not know to express myself or get help. I have learnt it
was okay to feel angry, but how can I learn to be more calm now. I accept I
have mood switches, mine are usually 3 days up, 3 days down from what I can
tell. This can cause confusion in a relationship, as when I am down people
think it is because of them. It is not, and even if it is, it still may not be.
Brain chemistry is weird. I have learned to honor the ups and get more done,
and always be more loving and affectionate. When I am depressed, I may not be
the most happy, cute, kissy girlfriend.. but I will be soon. I guess the
dynamics keep it interesting. But I am not trying to be difficult at all. Bipolar
is quite difficult for me and everyone involved; and a partner must try to truly
understand or at least offer understanding. Empathy goes a long way when
dealing with a partner with any mental illness, and I do not believe all
bipolar relationships fail. It just takes two people who love and support each
other to work out all the kinks. We really are great lovers!

It is really so important to me and always has been. A lot of us have that natural instinct to throw music on when we are in a sad mood, or a good mood or just any mood!

My favourite things to do are drive around listening to music in my car or just dancing to music in my room. Even when I am working I keep my headphones in. I believe music is a powerful force, especially emotionally for me. I have to be careful, listening to sad music sometimes, as I really feel every word and lyric. I enjoy this sadness strangely, as it can be very beautiful. Sometimes certain lyrics trigger me(degrading stuff towards women) and other times they inspire me. But other times I need upbeat, motivating and fun music.

Some people express themselves through music. Of course artists, songwriters, singers, dancers ect. I know some people who write and produce music, and they find it very therapeutic. It is a way to get your feelings and turn it into something beautiful, something people can relate to. That’s what it is really, something for people to relate to.

I get really motivated by music as well. Some music(I love everything btw) really gets me going. If I get really into a song I am beaming, dancing singing, performing lol. When I was younger my favorite thing was pretending I was Britney Spears in my room singing and dancing in the mirror. I am sure many girls can relate! But I always enjoyed stuff like that. For a few years I enjoyed going to clubs to go dance. But then I realized I hated going to clubs and everything that came with it, I just enjoy dancing. Dance was huge growing up for me as well. I was in Jazz for years and me and my best friends were always making up dance routines. We would join dance club, and performed every year in high school at our talent shows. Even writing this is making remember how fun that all was!

I still love it, but mostly I am just dancing and singing in my car and I still sometimes do the performing thing in the mirror(lol) I think I just got inspired to go find a hip hop dance classs and unleash inner child! Bahahah okay side note**

I mentioned how therapeutic people who enjoy writing lyrics find it. I keep getting more memories pop up as I write this. I remember being sad and down as a child(I have dealt with depression my whole life) and I would write songs about my feelings. My young soul knew exactly what I always needed. It is crazy how much we forget as we get older. As I got older, I played clarinet, then violin(omg could never get this one down) and guitar. I need to pick my guitar back up and hey maybe I will write some song lyrics. Writing is one of my greatest coping skills to deal with my emotions. I keep a journal, and I write freely alot about things. I like to research things as well and often I am documenting things and recording. I write my goals, positive affirmations and honestly so helpful.

Creative expression is interesting. It attracts even more. As I was writing this free flow article about music. I realized even MORE how powerful it is when all these childhood memories popped up. I actually forgot I used to write music and what a consistent theme it has been in my life. Pretty cool. My brother and our friends used to write movie scripts and make movies! With our old school camcorder. Ah such good times.

As we get older, we forget a lot of the things we loved and did. We were more likely to be creative and expressive when were younger. We had huge imaginations!

But music is such a powerful phenomenom. It has really always helped me and others with an overall sense of wellbeing. Simply, it helps create happiness and relaxation in everyday life.

It is also known to lower stress and anxiety, something people are experiencing a lot of these days. I love my commute to work. It is the time before my day really begins I can get in a great mood. I blast music too, haha. At 8am maybe I am waking everybody up.

It is also great for when you excercise! It helps motivate you through a workout and enjoy the experience more. My workouts are much better and effective when I have music playing. It makes a monotamous activity more fun and appealing! Listen to fun, upbeat music.

Music has also been shown to have positive impacts on physical pain. And even help children with Autism. It helps them with social skills, communication and attention skills.

So that is it. Some information hopefully you can take something from. I am sure you all know how great music is anyways, but just a reminder of its healing qualities!

There are many benefits to rising an hour early than you normally would(or maybe 2!). First, it reduces stress immensely as you do not have to rush. Giving yourself enough time in the morning to eat, get ready, make some coffee etc is essential to starting your day off right. I know for me personally, if I wake up late or don’t allow myself sufficient time, I am so super stressed! It really does become the most stressful time of the day when I am pressed for time or believe I am running late. Not a good start to the day. But early rising allows us to begin our day on a much more positive note.

There is a book called the 5am Club. It suggests the worlds most successful people follow this formula. So they break it down into 20 minute increments:

Allowing yourself that first hour though after rising is so key. This will also be the time of day where you can do something for yourself, before anyone rises and you have complete solitude. It sets your mind up for a positive, inspirational day ahead of you. Many people find they do not have time to excercise or meditate, so its very beneficial to fit it in in the morning when there are no distractions. Visualizing and being grateful(even writing a list before meditating on it) can also set you up for a great day, where more blessings will come your way!

The time you have now also to make a healthy breakfast will help you make better food choices in general. With time given, you can make a nutrient packed breakfast(even just some fruit and toast, maybe eggs/yogurt as well) instead of grabbing a granola bar or something on the way out.

People who rise early tend to also go to sleep early. This routine is so important for overall health and well being. A consistent sleep schedule, where you are getting enough hours of sleep will help you be more productive throughout the day. It also helps your internal clock to naturally fall asleep and wake up at those times. It may seem hard at first, but your body will adjust. You will also be more alert and attentive when you do arrive at work, as you have given yourself time to adjust to being awake after a well rested sleep.

Your mind is also at its peak performance in the morning. This is the best time to make goals and set intentions, and achieve them. You will also have more energy throughout the day even though you would think you would be more tired.

To start waking up early, try going to bed earlier. I understand this is hard, trust me I know. I am a total night owl and found it hard for a long time to goto sleep early. But once you establish a routine your body will adjust. Also, give yourself time to ease into it. If your normal wake up time is 8:00am, aim for 7:45, then 7:30, then 7:15 and so on. Also tip to fall asleep earlier: Take a hot bath and read a book. No electronics. For some reason I find adding Apple cidar vinegar to my baths to completely drain me. Not sure exactly why, but I think because its a great detoxifyer, draining toxins out your body, it literally drains you. Just something I have found helpful. Maybe pick a boring book too, you will drift off in no time.

At first, set an alarm. Not an annoying beeping sound either. That noise drives me nuts and wakes me up irritated. Try an alarm of a song or inspirational talking or something. And don’t put it right next to you, put it across the room, so you have to get up to turn it off. Hey if it’t not that annoying beeping sound you may not want to. But make sure you get up, just to use the bathroom or grab a glass of water. That initial step out of bed will help you stay away from your mattress.

Be excited about your morning routine. Before you goto bed, thank God for the morning routine you have made for yourself and express how excited you are to wake up and do these things. Remind yourself that this is beneficial to you, and you enjoy taking care of yourself and asserting an active role in the routines delivery and participation.

Keep your weekend schedule the same as your weekday one. Avoid sleeping in on the weekends and staying up late. It throws off your internal clock and then you will experience feelings similar to jetlag.

So there it is, the benefits of rising early! Also there is truth in the old saying your day should start off with making your bed. You immediately accomplish your first victory of the day and sets you up for more(even small) victories. So give it a try! And see how it improves your attitude, increases your productivity and improves your energy levels.

“It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom”

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Hi! My name is Sara, welcome to my blog🙋‍♀️ I am a writer and speaker and I am passionate about mental health, healing, spirituality and self development. I believe in everyone and want everyone to believe in themselves too! 🙏